


love you like the movies

by Tood Bootsman (KittooningMalijah)



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: 2x04 the house within the house, Canon Divergent, Extended Scene, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 16:13:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12656997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/Tood%20Bootsman
Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is just a few extra seconds, a chance to say something more, and the entire situation changes. Maybe it can even fix a few mistakes. [slightly canon divergent extended Brotzly scene from 2x04, the House Within the House]





	love you like the movies

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: Brotzly au where they actually fucking talked on that couch am I right (for anon)  
> disclaimer: I have never actually seen Pretty in Pink

          “Why are you here? What have you got to do with any of this?”

          Todd watched, practically silent, while his friend stumbled over his words and tried to decide whether or not there was anything else to say. After the day they’d had, it was reasonable to take some time to think about it all, but it still hurt, seeing someone he cared about struggle the way that he was. When he finally broke the silence himself, it was half out of pity but with a protective edge. “I saw Amanda.”

          He got nothing more than a quiet “what?” in response, and for a moment, Todd almost didn’t want to say anything more. However, too much of him knew that wouldn’t help things, it wouldn’t reassure either of them, and it certainly wouldn’t make it any easier to get on with the case. instead, he pressed on, adding the details he knew would do just as little to actually help the situation as staying quiet would do.

          “I had, like, a hallucination, when I was having my attack.” The topic wasn’t something that he wanted to talk about, not when he was certain that his attack had been the cause of at least some of Dirk’s abnormal behavior. There was too much guilt between them, for one reason or another, and nothing would alleviate it until they actually had a  _discussion_ , but there wasn’t time for something like that, just yet.

          “Like one of Amanda’s visions?”

          Now that the conversation had started, it seemed to snowball, getting further and further from the topic that their talk had started at, but Todd couldn’t seem to stop it. “No, no, no, it was like...” Words tumbled despite how much he wanted to bite his tongue and change the subject back to what was going on with his friend. They’d started talking about something else, and it turned back around to  _his_  problems - that seemed like a too accurate description of his life. “She was having it  _for_  me. Like reaching out. I saw her. I  _saw_  her. Dirk, as crazy as it sounds, I think Amanda’s in danger. In Wendimoor.”

          Fear coiled in his stomach at the thought of his sister being somewhere like that, potentially alone, and for a moment, the pain of it all was almost worse than any attack would ever be. Even when he was living a lie, hiding so much of himself, he’d always made a point to be there for Amanda, but he couldn’t do that when they were whole  _worlds_  away from each other. It certainly didn’t help that his worry was only heightened by the state his best friend was in, too.

          It used to be, he didn’t care about how most other people felt. What mattered to Todd was how things affected  _him_ , making sure  _his_ life wasn’t too upside down, keeping a simple, easy routine where he didn’t have to put in much effort at all. In only a few months, that had all seemed to change. Now, he was much more concerned with the people around him. Maybe it was partially an attempt to make up for all the mistakes he’d made in the past, but that didn’t lessen how much he wanted, desperately, to help them in any way he could - or maybe it did, but he didn’t really have a point of reference for the feelings that he had no control over. The way he’d been living his life before Dirk came along and turned everything upside down and backward had been focused on himself and  _only_  himself, and there were too many people in his life, now, who he couldn’t protect from what the universe was throwing at them. It was like a neverending pararibulitis attack, only the pain he felt wasn’t physical, nor was it imaginary.

          He knew, if he didn’t speak up again soon, the look in his best friend’s eyes would grow into a thought and then spoken word, and his chance to say what was on his mind would be gone, potentially for good. As terrifying as it would be to find the courage to actually say it, the uncertain future meant he had to get the words out before Black Wing or the FBI or anything else caught up to them.

          “Dirk, you know that Amanda’s not the only reason I’m here, right?” The beat of silence that followed Todd’s words was enough of an answer to make him press on, shaking his head while he shifted his weight on the couch cushion. “I meant what I said, two months ago, when I picked you up at the hospital. I’m here, with you, because I’m your  _friend_ , Dirk. If there’s anything that you need to talk about, you can talk to me.”

          The sound that was almost a scoff hurt, but he tried not to let it show. This wasn’t about him, and he’d never meant to make it that way, not when someone he cared about so much was clearly suffering. If there was something that needed to be voiced, hed take it without complaint.

          “Despite how you view the world and your place in it, Todd, I will never demote you from the position of my best friend.” They were both quiet, again, for just a moment, but it wasn’t as charged as it was, before. Somehow, just those few sentences had done enough to help the situation, which made it easier to keep the conversation going. “Being my best friend doesn’t change the fact that you’re in danger wherever we go. In fact, being so close to me might be putting you in  _more_  danger, Todd. Between whatever the universe is doing to me, and your pararibulitis, and this big mess going on here in Bergsberg, what if the luck that helped us  _survive_  the Patrick Spring case in Seattle doesn’t hold out? I don’t want to keep dragging you along if I can’t do  _something_  to make sure you make it out alive, and preferably, in one piece.”

          At that, Todd actually managed a laugh while he shook his head. His weight shifted again, though he didn’t notice how close he’d gotten to the other man on the old couch until their knees bumped together, and he was almost leaning into the contact despite the alarm bells going off in the back of his head. “Then you  _get it_ , don’t you? I’m not going to leave you alone to take care of yourself -  _I_  want to make sure  _you’re_  okay, too.”

          For a brief, blissful moment, things actually felt  _normal_. Their worries were pushed aside and forgotten about while gazes locked, and the new, comfortable silence settled in around them. With his mind going a mile a minute, Todd couldn’t pick out which words he wanted to say, right away, almost certain they made no sense while they tumbled from eager lips.

          “You’ve seen  _Pretty in Pink_ , haven’t you? Or maybe you haven’t, but before I went off to school, Amanda and I used to watch all these romantic comedies that our parents had around the house, and that was, for some reason, one of our favorites. There’s this scene...” Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear his head enough that the feelings he kept hidden wouldn’t bubble over while he paraphrased and changed a few words from the movie. “You said you want a friend who believes in you, and you have that. That’s the thing, Dirk, I  _do_  believe in you. I just... don’t believe in myself as much. You’re my best friend, too, Dirk,  _always_.”


End file.
